Activist sues Sanford over Trayvon Martin public records

7:00 p.m. EST, May 30, 2012

A political activist who's repeatedly asked Sanford to produce public records in the Trayvon Martin shooting – especially police-made videos – on Wednesday sued the city, accusing it of willfully violating the state's public records act.

Charles Grapski began making those records requests April 3, according to his suit. Over the next two weeks, he made three others, his suit alleges.

Although more than a month has now passed, he has not received the records, according to his attorney, Lawrence G. Walters of Longwood, nor has he been given a written reason, explaining why they're exempt from public disclosure.

The city's response, Walters said Wednesday, "is ridiculous. … These are our records. They don't belong to the city."

Grapski was requesting videos, police records related to Neighborhood Watch groups and the records requests made by news organizations and others.

Some of the information was previously on a city website but has since been removed at the request of Special Prosecutor Angela Corey, according to city employees.

Trayvon, 17, was shot to death Feb. 26 by Neighborhood Watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who's now awaiting trial on a second-degree murder charge.

Since the shooting, Sanford has been inundated with hundreds of public records requests from news organizations, seeking information about the case and its much-criticized police investigation.

Grapski lives in Osceola County but formerly sued the city of Alachua, alleging it had violated his constitutional rights when he was arrested after being accused of illegally recording a city official on city property.